Bomann TSG 5704 (dishwasher compact with a built-in water tank): our review

A sandwich plate, a cereal bowl and the mug that has followed you round the flat all afternoon can make a small kitchen look surprisingly busy. The Bomann TSG 5704 offers 2 place settings, a small capacity intended for small loads. Place settings are a standardised measure covering plates, glasses and cutlery, rather than a promise about how many people you can feed.

Think daily crockery, with cookware considered separately. Limited capacity for meals involving serving dishes and saucepans is the main restriction here. A casserole dish does not become smaller because dinner was for a small household. Sadly, crockery has never been especially cooperative.

Would you mostly be clearing breakfast and a simple evening meal? That is a convincing role for this mini dishwasher. We would choose it around the washing-up you actually produce, including the awkward pieces, rather than counting the chairs round your table.

With a width of 42 cm, a height of 44 cm and a depth of 44 cm, this mini freestanding model gives you concrete measurements to check against the space beside your sink. Width determines how much surface it occupies; height matters beneath cupboards; depth affects how far it extends towards the front edge. Compact is useful. Measured is better.

The built-in tank accepts manual filling, so adding water yourself becomes part of the routine. For a studio flat where every centimetre counts, that arrangement may be appealing, provided you are happy to make filling the tank another kitchen habit.

Give the position some thought before ordering. The body dimensions describe the appliance, rather than the whole working space around it. Keep room to load and unload dishes comfortably, and check the installation instructions for the required surroundings and drainage arrangement. A freestanding format still needs a suitable position, with everyday access considered alongside the space occupied by the cabinet.

The declared eco electricity consumption is 31 kWh/100 cycles, among the lowest declared figures. That is an appealing characteristic for a machine handling modest amounts of crockery regularly. Its energy label places it in class D. We like the low electricity figure, while keeping its small capacity firmly in view.

Less electricity per cycle is not automatically less electricity per plate. Compare machines of similar capacity if resource use is driving your choice. Running a small appliance repeatedly changes the household picture, even when its individual eco cycle uses relatively little.

Eco takes 165 min, a relatively short duration for this programme type. You still need to plan around it: starting after an early supper makes more sense than expecting clean mugs while the kettle boils. The electricity figure applies to eco, and should not be carried across to quick washing. A longer eco cycle elsewhere is not inherently a flaw; taking time can help reduce resource use.

A quick wash programme and an extra drying option give you choices for familiar kitchen decisions: how urgently you need the dishes again, and how much drying help you want at the end. The quick programme gives you another route through the washing-up, but its name alone cannot tell you its duration or electricity consumption.

Treat extra drying as additional help. If your evening load includes small containers alongside plates and mugs, leave room in your expectations for some finishing with a tea towel. We would not make spotless glasses or entirely dry contents part of the buying argument. The option is useful to have, without turning unloading into a promise about every item.

Planning to switch it on just before bedtime? The available specifications give no noise figure, so ask the retailer for that detail if sound travelling into the bedroom would determine your choice. Compact dimensions say nothing about how comfortably a dishwasher will share your evening.

This model is well placed overall in our scores, with a clear purpose for households that want help with a modest daily pile of dishes. Its manually filled tank, compact dimensions and relatively short eco programme make a coherent proposition. The attraction is a smaller washing-up routine that you can build around familiar meals.

The Hisense HS693A90XAD is better suited to large loads of dishes, with a higher place settings value of 16 place settings. That loading measure still describes a standardised assortment of crockery and cutlery. The Hisense HS693A90XAD has higher eco programme electricity consumption at 55 kWh/100 cycles. The Hisense HS693A90XAD is also better rated overall.

Those differences make the choice practical rather than abstract. Keep this mini model in contention when everyday crockery is the job and space shapes the decision. The larger appliance makes sense when the school holiday gathering regularly turns your draining board into a crockery exhibition. Choose around the evenings that happen most often.